Echoes
by kaibasgirlx
Summary: At what point does heart overrule mind, and mind become the means with which to torture, and when do you stop taking things lightly, and start looking for a deeper message...[Taang]


**Echoes**

_Did you ever feel like fear of the unknown was almost choking you in its hold…as though you were stumbling through an impenetrable darkness, trying to find your way, but no matter where you turned, you were still always lost? At what point does heart overrule mind, and mind become the means with which to torture, and when do you stop taking things lightly, and start looking for a deeper message?_

Aang sat up in his sleeping bag, panting and gasping for breath, beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. Eyes darting to and fro, he spotted his friend's forms nearby and his body relaxed, heart rate returning to a slower, steadier pace.

_It was just a dream,_ he told himself in the darkness, though his fists still shook slightly. _It was all just a dream…_

His eyes sought the sky, and saw it was pitch black. Darkest before dawn…morning would be approaching soon. He allowed the thought to comfort him. With the rising of the sun, the shadows that lived in the night would disappear, and he'd be free for the next twelve hours.

It had been happening now, for almost a week, he reflected, as he felt the oncoming of a headache begin to set in. The same nightmare over and over again. It would start off differently each time, mostly about the happenings of the day, or whatever was troubling him just before drifting off, but without fail, he would slip into that same sequence of events, as though they were waiting patiently for him to arrive, to torture him for the night once more.

Ever since the fall of Ba Sing Se, after he'd awoken in the company of his friends and the Earth King, he'd been having these recurring visions in his dreams. As though the lightning which nearly killed him, had opened up a door that until then was firmly locked. Ironic, really, that death should be the key.

The boy sighed, giving up on the pounding inside his head, and, staff in hand, walked to the edge of the campsite which overlooked a bay, the pale moon reflected in the waters.

He needed to think clearly, to try and figure out the actions that took place when his eyes were closed. They weren't merely a hodgepodge of disjointed, fragmented thoughts; no, it was something…_more_. These felt almost like…recollections, events that had actually taken place, and with each passing night, the thought became more grounded, as each image flashed before him with a startlingly sharp clarity.

Sitting down on the earthen floor, he went into his meditative position, trying to tease apart the message in the dream.

That night started off in the Southern Air Temple. He was playing with other boys his age, friends from long ago, before anyone had known whom he was. As he rode around on his air scooter, Gyatso called him to the side, asking him to follow, but Aang knew what was happening.

He was being taken to the elder monks who were to inform him that he was the Avatar and was needed to master all four elements because of the impending war. He didn't want to though; he didn't want to be the Avatar, had never asked for the job. He didn't want the responsibility or the destiny; he wanted to be himself. Just Aang, the Airbender and nothing more.

As they walked along the silent halls, he turned around and fled, too scared to meet his own fate. He was running, running through the temple he knew so well, when suddenly the scene blurred. Now he was hurrying through the icy tundra of the North Pole. Faces flickered past him of people he knew, and those he didn't, all melting into the background as he continued on. Finally, when it felt as though he'd run far enough, he stopped to catch his breath and gazed at the scene in front of him.

There was a man dressed in furs, and a lady who looked vaguely familiar. It seemed a wedding was taking place, as the woman looked radiant, with flowers woven into her long brown hair. The man was holding her hands, and they seemed about ready to embrace, when suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake.

He heard the woman yell, before she fell into what**—**Aang realized with a jolt**—**was the spirit oasis pond. He ran forward to help her, when suddenly something shifted, and he found himself flung backwards onto the ground. Looking up, he saw a black, menacing shape; it towered above him, mask pulled into a leer, as it lunged forward in attack.

He dodged, and as he did so, he heard a voice crying out for help, but couldn't locate the sound. He turned his head left and right, but found nothing, only the blackness that had steadily overtaken the scene.

Now he was standing in a void. There was nothing here, but at the same time, felt certain there was. He closed his eyes, ears sharpening to pick up the sound of his enemy before it found him, and after a moment of silence, he heard voices.

It sounded like buzzing at first, but soon they took shape, and yet he couldn't make out the words; they were a jumble of syllables, racing one after the other.

_Helpmepleasehelpmedontleavemeheresavemerunawayyouhavetorunawayleavemebehindimnotworthitgoawaygoawayyoullnevermakeitoutaliveyouhavetoleaveitshopelessyoullnevergetherbacknevershesminenowallmine…_

He didn't understand the message, but he knew they were different voices. He waited and waited, suddenly realizing that the arrows on his body were glowing brightly, and he opened his eyes, wondering if he was in the Avatar State.

The black around him churned and swirled, and a shape began to materialize from the floor. Its eyes bore into his like two pools of azure, and he held his breath, knowing without knowing that this was the woman who was taken by the monster. Her hand hovered over his face, before her form shifted and she shrank down in size, hair turning raven black, eyes milky green, and he realized, with a start, he was looking at Toph…

Aang opened his eyes, breathing hard. What did it mean…what _could_ it mean. Was this a vision of something that happened or was yet to happen…he didn't know, he _just_ _didn't know_.

It was haunting him, following him wherever he went. Was Toph…was she going to get taken by the beast…would her fate end up the same as the woman's, trapped forever in the emptiness she was now.

_So many questions…so little answers…_

Taking it no longer, he ran over to her tent and rapped on the door. It opened almost at once, and he saw her eyes widen in surprise and a tinge of apprehension. He didn't answer her questions**—**_what's going on, are we under attack_**—**rather crushed her to him in a tight hold, the tears he suppressed for the past few weeks now spilling down his cheeks.

_Don't leave me, don't leave me…_

_What are you talking about, why would I leave you_

_Promise me that whatever happens, you'll never follow_

_I…I can't_

And he suddenly understood the pang he felt every time he looked into her eyes.


End file.
